There is a growing gap between the European leaders and the citizens
Is democracy only fine when its outcomes suit political leaders?
15 May 2007 - On Saturday, in Portugal, Angela Merkel reiterated for the hundredth time that it was a matter of urgency to find an agreement on the future of the European Constitution. The new deadline is the end of June which is quite short notice since many European countries are currently undergoing political changes (the latest being the UK with the eminent departure of Tony Blair).
Other than this obvious lack of realism, the attitudes of Merkel and her followers are difficult to understand in so-called democracies. Indeed, on the one hand some politicians argue, with good reason, that the French and Dutch No must be respected and that any new treaty must take these criticisms into consideration. However on the other hand, all the proposals for the new treaty made so far, are remote from the concern of citizens. It seems like there is a misunderstanding between the demands of the citizens and the responses of the political leaders.
The reasons why European citizens are against the Constitution are many, a brief summary of theses is as follows: fear of loosing their own identity and control over their national institutions, lack of information on the Constitution itself, the need for a more social Europe, concerns over Turkeys accession, risks of too high costs for taxpayers and the lack of democratic accountability. The leaders responses are more than vague, arguing they want something lighter and that any references to the Declaration of Human Rights should be removed. They even argue, though not officially, that the Constitution should remain the same in content but that debatable words should be removed to ease citizens concerns. In other words, it is like refusing to go on holiday with one of your friends because you consider the place to be too expensive and too hot and your friends only response is: Dont worry we will buy chocolate!
There is a huge gap between the leaders and the citizens. Are the leaders aware of this gap? We hope not and that they would plead ignorance otherwise it means that, these champions of democracy only respect its values and its consequences when it suits them. The whole point of a democracy is to accept the majoritys choices even if you think that they might be wrong. Maybe our leaders could use some humility classes
Source: Democracy International, BBC, Open Europe, Le Monde
By Anas Camus, EUD researcher
For more information, please contact: anais@eudemocrats.org